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On Thursday, Feb. 13, what was originally predicted to be a minor weather event turned into a major storm as nearly a foot of snow blanketed the region. Schools and businesses closed their doors and roads were treacherous. However, for many passengers traveling in and out of State College by air, the University Park Airport remained open keeping customers on the go.

The time to update its 20-25 year master plan was approaching, and officials at the University Park Airport saw an opportunity to receive federal funding to create a Sustainable Airport Master Plan. The airport's application was accepted and University Park is now the 13th airport in the country--and first in the state--to receive funding from the Federal Aviation Administration to make its future development operations "greener."

The 18-month plan provides the airport with $217,000 in federal airport improvement funding to address sustainability. With the airport's relationship with the University and the surrounding community, it was an ideal choice for funding.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- A small commercial airplane traveling from Buffalo, N.Y., to Philadelphia made a safe emergency landing at the University Park Airport today (Oct. 1) after an indicator light on the control panel in the cockpit came on and smoke was seen outside the plane. There were no injuries, according to emergency personnel who responded to the landing call, as the plane touched down safely. The airplane is currently being assessed for any malfunctions. There were only six people on board the plane, most of them crew members, according to police.

Emergency personnel from Penn State and municipalities throughout the Centre Region participated in a full-scale emergency response exercise at the University Park Airport Wednesday evening, May 23. Port Matilda Fire Co., Bellefonte EMS, Alpha Fire Co., Centre Life Link EMS, Pleasant Gap EMS and Fire, and Penn State Haz-Mat, Penn State Police, Penn State EMS, Centre County EMA, Centre County Coronor, Transportation and Safety Administration and the University Park Airport all took part in the exercise. For photos from the event, visit http://live.psu.edu/flickrset/72157629876439348 online.

Emergency personnel from Penn State and municipalities throughout the Centre Region will participate in a full-scale emergency response exercise at the University Park Airport from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 23. The airport will be open and operating under a normal schedule during this drill. Traffic may be heavier than normal, however, so travelers should allow extra time to get to the airport.

Probably the most famous case of an airplane striking birds in its flight path is US Airways Flight 1549, which lost two engines when it hit Canada geese shortly after takeoff from New York's LaGuardia Airport on Jan. 15, 2009. Capt. "Sully" Sullenberger successfully landed the disabled aircraft in the Hudson River, and all passengers were rescued. Less well-known is the bird strike that took place at 8 a.m. Oct. 18, 2010, when a mallard duck struck a private airplane that had just taken off from the University Park Airport. Fortunately the accident did not result in any injuries, but the plane suffered $45,000 worth of damage.

Due to a heightened awareness of the severity of bird strikes, the FAA recommended a Wildlife Hazard Assessment be conducted to determine what wildlife hazards were present at and within a five-mile radius of the airport. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conducted the assessment in 2009-10, and based on the results the FAA required the airport to prepare a Wildlife Hazard Management Plan to better manage the potentially hazardous wildlife. "This plan, which the FAA approved recently, outlines the specific steps to be taken, from least-invasive to most-invasive, to reduce the threat of bird strikes involving flights to or from the University Park Airport," said Travis Tumbleson, wildlife specialist with USDA-APHIS-Wildlife Services.

The recently completed airport traffic control tower at the University Park Airport will be functional in about a month, according to Airport Director Bryan Rodgers. Once it goes online, the tower will operate from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. A staff of an air traffic manager and controllers have arrived on-site. "They'll have a 30-day break-in period to finalize some paperwork and get organized, and then I expect the tower to be operational and controllers actually controlling air traffic around Sept. 1," said Rodgers.

Penn State Travel Services worked with the University's Human Resource Development Center recently to offer the Travel Professional Certificate Program. Those who completed the six-month program were given a travel certificate on Feb. 3 in the Founder's Lounge at the Bryce Jordan Center on Penn State's University Park campus.

Nearly 100 University administrators, state leaders and community members gathered at the University Park Airport to recognize the completion of its new airport traffic control tower. The new tower was unveiled at an opening ceremony on Dec. 7 and is expected to begin operations in January. For photos, visit http://live.psu.edu/stilllife/2398 online.

After six months under construction, the new control tower at the University Park Airport has taken on an identifiable shape. With the help of a heavy-lift crane, workers hoisted the 29.5-ton steel frame of the tower's control cab and placed it atop the tower's base on May 27, marking a major milestone in the construction effort.

University Park, Pa. -- Penn State officials were notified Thursday (April 15) by U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Howard, that the federal Department of Transportation has awarded the University Park Airport in State College a $251,690 grant for the second phase of construction for a new air traffic control tower.

University Park, Pa. -- Emergency personnel from Penn State and municipalities throughout the Centre County area will participate in a full-scale emergency response exercise at the University Park Airport from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. today (Wednesday, May 27). The airport will be open and operating under a normal schedule during the drill. The Federal Aviation Administration requires all commercial airports to conduct full-scale, on-site exercises of emergency response plans every three years. The exercise will involve local police and fire departments, emergency medical services, the county HazMat teams and several local, state and federal government and community agencies, along with on-site airport response crews. Centre County emergency radio dispatchers also will be involved in the exercise.